This invention relates to discharge conveying apparatus for a longitudinal extrusion press. The discharge or exit conveying installations of extrusion presses have the task of conveying the extruded products or extrusions away lengthwise in the extrusion direction, i.e. the discharge or exit direction, and then conveying them crosswise in their entire length or in portions, to give the extrusions time to cool and, where appropriate, to convey them to a stretching bench as well as to devices for dividing them into commercial lengths and to stacking devices. Care must be taken to exert light tension on the extrusion so that it is held stretched straight, and for this purpose the longitudinal discharge conveyor is driven at a conveying speed which is somewhat greater than the extruding speed. There is thus no necessity for special drawing-out devices consisting of a carriage which can be moved lengthwise and which has gripping devices for the extrusion. The structural cost of such a drawing-out device cannot be balanced by a less expensive design of the longitudinal conveyor, but rather it becomes necessary to coordinate the longitudinal conveyor and What are known as beam conveyor belts are preferably provided as longitudinal conveyors. These beam conveyor belts are conveyors with parallel endless circulating chains arranged in pairs and with spaced beams connecting these, which beams are moved transversely by the chains in the discharge direction (Zeitschr. f. Metallkunde, vol. 60(1969) No. 3, p. 172 to 179; advertisement leaflet P2/1117, April 1970, Schloemann Aktiengesellschaft; W. German Patent 25 56 894). The beams offer the extrusions sufficient support to eliminate deformation of the extrusions, whilst scrape marks on the extrusions caused by the beams advancing slightly faster are avoided in that the beams themselves or supports on the beam consist of appropriate material. Supports made of graphite have proved particularly suitable. The span of the supported extrusions determines the spacing of the beams in the discharge direction, which spacing is sufficient in each case to make it possible for the extrusions to cool well. Moreover, the space between any two adjacent beams must be sufficient for the conveying elements of the transverse conveyor to be brought between the beams of the longitudinal conveyor and for the extrusions to be lifted up from the beams of the longitudinal conveyor by vertical relative movement and taken up by the transverse conveyor. This means that the longitudinal conveyor must be stopped for the entire time of entry, vertical relative movement and exit of the conveying elements of the transverse conveyor. Alternatively, stopping the longitudinal conveyor is not necessary if, during the time that they are engaged between the beams of the longitudinal conveyor, the conveying elements of the transverse conveyor can move with the longitudinal conveyor in the discharge direction and, after they have left the region of the beams again, are brought back to their starting position by springs or a piston-cylinder unit (West German Patent Specification 1 300 898). While the conveying elements of the transverse conveyor are brought back to their starting position, the extrusion and/or extrusion portion taken off by the conveying elements from the longitudinal conveyor must also be moved contrary to the discharge direction, which in turn can lead to damage to the extrusion or extrusion portion. Moreover, this device also has the disadvantage that, as a result of expansion, sag and play over the length of the longitudinal conveyor, more and more deviations in the chain pitch and thus in the beam pitch can occur, which deviations lead to the collision of beams of the longitudinal conveyor with conveying elements of the transverse conveyor.
It is an object of the invention to shorten the cycle time for the transfer of extrusions and/or extrusion portions from the longitudinal conveyor to the conveying elements of the transverse conveyor, and to eliminate collisions of the beams of the longitudinal conveyor and the conveying elements of the transverse conveyor.